4.5 stars for Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis!
"An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break." -ancient Chinese proverb
Synopsis:
When Noelle and Sam's lives collide one snowy evening, they spend eight perfect hours stuck side by side believing that they'll never see each other again.
But soon their lives become entangled in ways they never expected - and it's going to change everything...
I really need to get better at posting our book club book right after our meeting. Eight Perfect Hours was The Romcom Book Club's January pick and a great way to kick off 2022! The last couple of months have just been my friend Emily and I, but January's meeting had 5 people in it! It was so great to have people to talk books with. Putting myself out there to meet up with a group of strangers is not usually something I would do, but knowing it's a group of book lovers like myself helps a lot.
Eight Perfect Hours was an easy, sweet read that also covered deeper topics that made it really enjoyable to talk about with the rest of the group. I probably say this about every rom-com book I read (especially the ones for book club), but the genre is so much more than sex scenes and falling in love. Difficult and important topics are being discussed in these books.
"And I think of something Daisy once said, something she'd written for her English paper -- that the only way to live forever is to leave parts of yourself behind."
Noelle has had a rough time since her BFF Daisy died when they were teenagers. While coming to grips with the loss of her friend, Elle suffered a breakdown that her mom helped nurse her back from. Therefore, when her mom suffers a stroke and recovers physically, but not mentally, Elle feels obligated to put her life on hold and care for her mother. Noelle is beyond exhausted and burnt out. Carer burnout is one of the topics we discussed as a group and the importance of promoting carer wellbeing as well.
Meeting Sam during the snowstorm sets off a chain reaction of events throughout the story that empowers Noelle to start living the life she wants, and in the process, get those around her to start doing the same. It's clear throughout the story that Sam and Noelle are destined to be together and it is a very sweet story full of healing, learning to chase your dreams and face your fears, and love.
As a whole, we all really like Eight Perfect Hours. It was about 50/50 between those who saw the twist coming of those of us (like me) who did not. We enjoyed watching Elle heal and take risks with her life, but there were also times when we thought Sam and Elle's meetings were a little too convenient. We were also in agreement that Elle's best friend Charlie and her husband Theo were incredible side characters who also had an important story to tell. Charlie is struggling with postpartum depression and we get to see her come to terms with it and seek professional help, all with the unending love and support from Theo and Elle. Postpartum depression, like so many mental health topics, is still not talked about openly enough. Even those of us without children appreciated how the author tackled the subject.
Once Elle and Sam share pasties on his dad's balcony and you feel the significance of the moment, I knew that was what I would use to inspire my dish. I liked the idea that while they were technically outside and could hear life happening all around them, the size of the patio makes the scene feel more intimate. By this point, I was fully willing the two of them to hurry up and get together already! Plus, I've gotten a little obsessed with making pasties lately. I know they aren't perfect (or traditional), but I've had a lot of fun trying new flavors. The one pictured here is cheesy chicken, leek, and potato, but I've also recently made ground beef, onion, and potato ones as well as broccoli, cheese, and chicken. They were all really good, but I think the broccoli, cheese, and chicken one is my favorite so far.
Thanks for stopping by!
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